The practical experience of performing cardiac MRI (CMR) for patients with Cardiac Implantable Electronic Device (CIED) using WB LGE (Wideband Late Gadolinium Enhancement) sequence

Abstract

MRI conditional Cardiac Implantable Electronic Devices have become more common nowadays, which allowing patients with these devices to undergo MRI examinations safely with appropriate programming and monitoring during the procedures. CIED is no longer a contraindication or safety concern for MRI examinations. However, patients with heart disease after CIED implantation are usually not able to undergo CMR because of the susceptibility and off-resonance artefacts caused by CIED and its leads. The artefacts are substantial and obscure the heart which makes CMR almost not interpretable, especially late gadolinium enhancement. WB LGE sequence is introduced by Siemens to reduce the susceptibility and off-resonance artefacts caused by the device. NUH installed the sequence in June 2023. CMR scans were performed on 2 patients with CIED. Quality of the CMR images produced was satisfactory. In conclusion, performing CMR for patients with CIED is challenging because of device related artefacts. With WB LGE sequence, we can produce diagnostic quality CMR images by reducing the artefacts caused by the device.